On March 8, International Women’s Day (IWD), IUF affiliates around the world took action to drive the fight for women’s rights including the following:
- In Africa, affiliates mobilized around equality and the promotion of women’s rights, including in the informal economy where IUF Africa is supporting women workers to affirm their identity as workers, to organize collectively and to facilitate their transition to the formal economy; IUF Africa organized a lively webinar on March 19 to share stories from affiliates about the work to fight for equality
- In Asia/Pacific, the Regional Secretariat and affiliates focused on the fight for secure jobs and better wages for women; equality can only be achieved through negotiated policies on equal opportunity and fair treatment, workplaces free from gender-based violence and harassment, and a work environment rooted in dignity and respect (e.g. 12 brave migrant women workers are fighting against Perfection Fresh in Australia)
- Across the Caribbean region, affiliates were involved in national demonstrations and public event, including in Antigua and Barbuda where they promoted the theme: “Accelerating progress”
- On March 8, EFFAT-IUF Europe released a statement focused on the impacts of unpaid care work on women workers’ life and on equal pay; EFFAT-IUF Europe is fighting to redefine unpaid domestic and care work as essential and to move away from the outdated notion of it being exclusively a “female activity,” recognition which is crucial in the struggle for equality
- In Latin America, the Regional Women’s Committee (Clamu) devotes all March to the promotion of best practices for fostering gender equality and women’s empowerment in trade unions and in communities; given the general political context where women’s rights are threatened, from Guatemala to Argentina, representatives of Clamu marched in solidarity with sisters and brothers of Argentina under the slogan “La patria no se vende. Las trabajadoras la defienden”/“Our Homeland is not for sale. Women workers are defending it,” showing their commitment to fight for democracy, trade union rights and women’s rights
IUF General Secretary Sue Longley stated, “We are proud to see how IUF affiliates mobilize in many different ways to fight for women’s rights, especially as the extreme right continues to drive its anti-rights agenda.”
